Thursday, April 5, 2012

Growing up, Easter was one of my favorite holidays and my family has given me lots of special memories to cherish.

In celebration of the holiday and because I like to do fun things for my followers, I'm making this Hoppy Easter giveaway super simple.

One winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card or equivalent value in books from The Book Depository. This is an international giveaway.

One easy rule:

1. You MUST be a follower of my blog to enter and leave a comment telling me if you plan on doing anything for Easter, along with your email address. Yes, I will check to make sure you are a follower.

You don't have to celebrate Easter to participate. I'm only curious if you have plans for the holiday.

That's it!

Giveaway runs April 6th - 12th. A winner will be announced on Friday the 13th on my blog and contacted via email.

For those who have participated in one of my giveaways, you know sometimes I announce additional winners. Since the 13th happens to be my husband's birthday, I may be in a generous mood, so the odds are high there will be more than one name.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Yet, at times it’s vital, especially for creative types such as writers and artists. We must surrender to our muse to create something authentic, but when it comes to querying agents, submitting to editors, or choosing between what the market wants and what our heart demands, we forget how to surrender.

I’m not talking about throwing your hands up in defeat when something doesn’t go the way you wanted or expected.

I’m talking about letting go and accepting the process.

For writers, it might mean learning from a rejection letter and refusing to throw a pity party. Simply accepting that some may receive ten rejections while the universe may be more generous to others, giving them hundreds, but every writer has faced it.

We live in an age of gratification on demand. We’ve come to perceive instant reward for a job we think has been well done as an entitlement. A healthier approach, which may preserve your sanity along the way, is surrendering to the fact patience is often required, while keeping your eye on the prize.

Perhaps pregnancy has helped enlighten me. For nine months, I’m forced to accept the changes of my body and prepare for the changes of my life. All as I wait for my prize at the end of this amazing adventure: my first child.

Although surrender is hard (nothing worthwhile is easy), it definitely makes the journey to your destination so much more fulfilling.

So if you’re having a bad day, or week, or month, cry if you absolutely must, then dry your tears and realize: it’s all a part of the process. Your time will come.

Do you surrender when you write or in other areas of your life? If so, do you think you’re happier because of it? If you’ve never surrendered, are you willing to give it a try?